


The Huntress

by Khaleesi_0f_Trolls



Series: The Saga of Sassa Grimborn [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Race To The Edge (Fandom)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-05-23 17:00:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14938295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khaleesi_0f_Trolls/pseuds/Khaleesi_0f_Trolls
Summary: Sassa had always been told that her mother's family, the Grimborns, were cruel and evil, and she had seen it when she learned they burned down the village she was raised in, threatened the lives of the survivors if she didn't help her them, and gets pulled into their war against a group of dragon riders who will stop at nothing to stop the hunters from continuing their work in harming innocent dragonsWhen one relative turns against another, Sassa has no choice but to turn to their enemy for help. But will they be willing to help a Grimborn?





	1. ▪ Prologue ▪

"Sassa! Sassa where are you?" A woman cried out frantically as she hurried through the woods. "Sassa!"

"Up here aunt Lysa!" The woman looked up to see a young blonde woman up in the trees with a bow slung over one shoulder.

"Get down from there before you break your neck!"

"Okay, don't get your skivies in a bunch." The girl muttered as she scrabble down the tree to her aunt. The minute her feet touched the ground, the older woman began to inspect her for injuries. "I'm fine auntie, no broken bones this time."

"Good, because we have to leave." Lysa said pulling her niece back in the direction of the village.

"But why?" Sassa asked as she followed her aunt, taking care to not trip over some loose rocks and making sure her aunt did the same.

Lysa was quiet before answering her. "Your uncles are here. We don't know what they want, but from my experience is that wherever they go, destruction follows. Nothing good ever comes from them."

Sassa shuddered nervously as they stepped out of the woods and picked up their pace. She never met either of her uncles, her mother's older and younger brother, but she never wanted to meet them. Lysa told her that they were cruel men and made her swear never to cross paths with them.

Many years ago Sassa was born among a group of people known as dragon hunters. Her mother, Cassandra Grimborn, didn't think it was right to raise a child in such a dangerous environment and decided to leave her family with her husband and her sister-in-law. Sassa had always heard how cruel and vicious the members of the Grimborn clan were, and the dangerous work they did- dragon hunting.

Villagers were scurrying around, rounding up their families and belongings while making their way to the docks. Just as the two women reached their hut to gather the necessities, there was a loud scream. Sassa turned to see a large man dressed strangely with a large sword that seemed to be made of green metal and holding one of the village men by the neck.

"I know you're here Lysa, just give us the girl and we'll leave these people alone." The man called. "If you don't, people will start to die!"

Sassa's hand went for her bow but her aunt grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled it down.

"Don't, let me handle this. Run and hide." Lysa instructed, glancing at the other villagers who were glancing at them nervously. The man, who Sassa guessed must have been either Ryker or Viggo, had dropped the man he was holding and started walking towards them.

"But-"

"Do what I say Sassa! Your uncle will kill you if you don't hide. I'll make something up, now go!"

Sassa ducked and bolted for the woods, the one part of the island not many dared to venture into. The woods were teeming with dragons, but they never bothered the village. It had plenty of food and shelter for them and if the humans wanted some fresh boar, squirrel or deer meat instead of yak, Sassa was the one to go to for it.

She quickly scurried up the tallest tree she could find, shooing away the occasional Terror that tried to use her head for a rest spot before positioning herself on a thick branch with plenty of leaves that hid her from whoever was below.

'Wonder which of my uncles was that.' Sassa wondered as she removed her bow and carefully knocked an arrow into it. 'Perhaps Ryker? Mother said he was the more violent and least patient  of her two brothers, and this man seems threatening enough. I just hope he didn't hurt Lysa.'

Sassa waited for what felt like hours when she spotted some strange men approaching the tree and talking rather loudly. The were dressed in short sleeved tunics with Zippleback vests over them and spiked helmets with strange axes in their hands.

"Someone said they saw the girl run in here, but where would she be hiding?" One of the men asked.

"Possibly in these woods, Ryker said to bring her back alive and unscathed as well." His companion replied. "What's the deal with her though?"

"Heard she's related to the Grimborns, not sure how though. Maybe she was the daughter of one of them?"

"Highly doubt it, I did hear they had a sister so maybe that's her."

"That's right, come closer." Sassa muttered as she aimed the arrow at one of the men. "A little more...more...there!" She released the arrow and it flew down, puncturing one of the mens feet.

The man gave a loud yell as he fell to the floor and his companion looked around wildly for the source of where the weapon came from. Sassa scooted down the part of the tree where the men wouldn't see her and leapt into the bushes.

"Come out wherever you are!" The uninjured man called as his companion howled in pain. "Show yourself girl!"

'Like I'm that stupid, they probably have sleeping darts.' Sassa thought as she crawled through the bushes.

"Come out you little brat!"

"My foot hurts! Get it off!" The man, who Sassa had shot, wailed loudly.

"Quit being such a baby!" His companion snarled. "It's just an arrow, walk it off!"

Sassa smirked as the man walked close to the bushes where she was hidden. With his back turned to her, he was an easy target. She carefully stood up, taking care not to make any noise and gripped her bow before swinging it and it collided with the man's head. The man fell forward, unconscious from the blow she delivered and his squalling companion started to attempt to crawl away in fear.

"Oh no you don't!" Sassa snarled as she jumped out of the bushes and grabbed the man by the back of his vest and shoved his face into the dirt. "Now, you are going to tell me why your leader is even on my island. If you don't, this arrow is going to get placed in another part of you, possibly one of your eyes or your throat."

The man gave a scream as the arrow was ripped out of his foot and and it turned to wild blubbering when Sassa shoved if near his throat. "I don't know! I swear I don't know! Ryker said just to bring you back to him alive!" The man whimpered. "That's all he told us!"

"Is he the only one here, or is his brother with him as well?" Sassa asked and the man shook his head.

"Y-es Ryker is the one h-here! V-viggo hardly ever joins him in this sort of work!"

Before she could ask another question, Sassa felt something hard hit her in the back of her head. She saw stars and tipped forward, faceplanting into the dirt and leaves. As her vision began to darken, she caught sight of a pair of scuffed up brown boots and heard what sounded like a deranged laugh before she passed out.

* * *

 

"Do you know why you are here?" Ryker asked but received no reply. Sassa was playing with some strands of her hair and staring at the floor in annoyance. He unsheathed one of his swords and she lifted her head up to stick her tongue out at him in annoyance. "Damn brat, I'm starting to question whether you are really related to Cassandra."

"So am I." Sassa retorted and folded her arms over her chest. "What do you want from me?"

"Just your loyalty, we are family so we should at least stick together." Ryker replied as he tucked his sword away. "With your archery skills, the one you proudly displayed in the woods by shooting one of my men in the foot from a twenty feet above, to help us in this war."

"Seriously? You burned my village down just for that?" Sassa asked angrily. "Just to shoot down some dragon riders who are trying to stop this horrible business you are in? No wonder my mother abandoned this family!"

Ryker gripped his sword hilt tightly but didn't pull it out. "I'm warning you, one toe out of line and we'll kill the rest of those villagers- starting with Lysa."

"Not unless I shoot you in the back of the head first."

Ryker looked ready to slap her, but he shoved his sword back into it's sheath and leaned close to Sassa. It took all her willpower to not spit in his face or gag at the horrible smell that she wasn't sure was coming off his body or his mouth. "You will be under the supervision of our Berserker ally, so don't get any funny ideas." Ryker growled as he stormed out of the cabin.

Sassa stuck her tongue out again when the door was shut and looked around at her cabin that she was apparently sharing with a Berserker. She remembered hearing about that tribe of warriors who went insane in battle and some murdered people just for fun. Apparently their chiefs were the most insane and berserk of them all, often doing the most insane of things to live up to their titles. She shuddered at the thought of having to share a room with one, and from what she heard there were two on the ship.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Sassa got tense. Before she could reply, the door opened slightly and a woman with dark hair that was braided and dark green eyes who looked close to her age poked her head in.

"Are you...Sassa?" The girl asked and Sassa nodded. "Oh good, I'm supposed to be supervising you."

"Wait, you're a Berserker?" Sassa asked when the girl entered the room.

"Yeah, didn't know I was one until a few weeks ago. I'm Heather." The girl replied and held out her hand to Sassa but she didn't take it. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Only Berserker I know who has done that was my brother."

"Your brother was the one who did this?" Sassa asked, pointing to the small lump on the back of her head.

"With a tree branch he found."

Sassa narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to murder him." She growled angrily. "And he had the audacity to laugh when I fell unconscious!"

"Well he's not...right in the head." Heather said with a shrug. "But I assure you that you won't have to deal with him for so long."

"I hope not."

"Hey sis! Ryker said he needed you and that blonde chick on deck!" A man yelled from the other side of Sassa's door. Sassa made a disgusted sound before storming over to the door and throwing it open to find a red haired man with brown leather armor with a huge scar and tattoo on either side of his face. His dark green eyes widened in surprise before narrowing. Sassa's own green eyes narrowed as well and they held each others stare until Heather cleared her throat.

"Stay out of my way." Sassa muttered as she shoved the man to the side and stormed away.

"I'm really starting to hate her." Dagur muttered and felt Heather flick his ear. "Ouch! Hey what did-"

"She's already ticked off at you for knocking her out and for Ryker forcing her to work with him." Heather hissed as she dragged her brother after Sassa. "Believe me, the last thing we need is to get on the bad side of a Grimborn, especially one who knows how to shoot people from afar. You've already heard that she sent those two men Ryker sent to bring her to the healer, one with a nasty hit to the back of the head and the other with an arrow that was lodged and forced out of his foot."

"Fair point."

Up on deck, they found Sassa standing in front of Ryker with her back to them, her body rigid and stiff as Ryker was glaring down at her. As she stood at her side, Heather could see what looked like the beginnings of a bruise on the girl's right cheek. Sassa showed no signs of pain, but Heather could see the anger and hate in her dark green eyes.

"Now, you three work for me. If any of you step a toe out of line, you know the consequences." Ryker said as he looked to the three adults and glared at Sassa. "Your job is to shoot down any dragons we attempt to catch, and shoot down any dragon riders that come-"

"Wait, dragon riders?" Sassa interrupted him, raising a brow before both narrowed. "What have you dunder heads done to-"

"They didn't do anything, but they're pesky and need to be shot down." Dagur interrupted her with a snort. "Brother Hiccup and his little dragon rider friends won't stand a chance now that we've become allies!"

"Mind filling me in on what he's rambling about?" Sassa asked Heather.

"Later, just let your uncle finish." Heather replied and added softly. "Before he strikes you again."

"Anyways, you are to shoot them down, but don't kill the dragons. Leave that to the other hunters." Ryker continued. "We need some alive to be able to sell and bid at the annual auction we hold every few months."

"I'm already hating this job." Sassa muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oww! That hurt!" Sassa groaned as Heather pressed a block of ice to her bruised cheek.

"You really have to stop mouthing off so much! Ryker might cut out your tongue!" The Berserker scolded as she removed the ice, only to put it back again in the same spot. "And he may start killing the survivors of your village."

Sassa grew quiet and looked to the far corner of the cabin that they shared. "How many did he say were slaughtered?"

"He didn't say, but I heard about a quarter of the villagers were killed and the rest were either taken captive or escaped." Heather responded and placed down the ice on the bed. "I don't know if Ryker will kill the ones he has captive, but you have to be careful and calculate every move you plan to do."

Sassa's eyes began to grow wet with tears but she didn't bother to wipe them away. "What if my aunt is among the captives?" She asked, her voice quivering slightly. "He might kill her first! Or hurt her badly! I don't know what he's capable of, but I know he'll hurt her in some way to keep me in line!"

Heather didn't know what to say to comfort the crying girl, all she could do was watch her cry. She thought of her own brother, who probably wasn't even aware of how bad the situation was at the moment and her thoughts then strayed to her friends the dragon riders, who didn't even know at the moment that she 'betrayed' them to attempt to get them information in order to take down the hunters. Now she had another reason to take down the Grimborns, and she had to do it fast.

"I'll try to find out where she is. If she's here, I'll...I'll try to help her escape." Sassa stopped crying to look at Heather in shock.

"Y-you will?" She asked, a bit of hope sparking in her eyes and Heather nodded.

"Don't worry, they'll never suspect me and I'll make sure they don't suspect you if she is being kept prisoner." Heather said and gave her a small smile. "You at least need a friend on this ship, and I know it's not going to be Dagur."

"Thank you, really." Sassa said, wiping her eyes. "I just hope my aunt is still alive.

 


	2. ▪ Captured ▪

"It's too quiet." Sassa murmured to herself as she sat near the front of the ship, her bow loaded with an arrow that was tipped with dragon root and eyes gazing across the sky and sea for any signs of wild dragons.

Her attention strayed to her uncle, who stood near the front of their ship. Dagur and Heather were downstairs, doing gods know what. Sassa let her attention return back to the clear blue sky, searching for at least one dragon to shoot down.

As she was looking for at least one dragon to shoot down, Sassa's mind went to Lysa. Was she even still alive? If she was, where was she? Ryker wouldn't hurt her, would he? She could barely remember about some things her aunt had told her about her relationship with either of her uncles, like she was apparently engaged to one but they broke off the engagement when Sassa's mother and father took her with them. Never was specific of which Grimborn brother she was to marry, but Sassa prayed that if it was Ryker her aunt was engaged to, he would at least keep her alive.

Just then, Sassa heard a loud whistling sound. She looked around wildly, looking for the source of the noise before she saw a streak of black fly by her uncle and shoot something bright purple into the water. It took Sassa a moment to realize it was a dragon with two humans seated on its back, a young boy and girl.

"I'm here for my dragon!" The girl yelled at Ryker angrily.

"A Night Fury!" Ryker yelled as two more dragons, a Zippleback and a Monstrous Nightmare, with humans on their backs came down and began firing at the men. Ryker's grin from earlier had melted away into a frow and yelled at the archers, "FIRE!" before turning to Sassa. "Hit that Night Fury!"

"Uh, have you seen how fast that dragon is?" Sassa asked. "Too fast for me, might miss."

"Just hit it! Pretend it's a deer or moose or something!" Ryker yelled and turned away. Sassa stuck her tongue out at him before taking aim at the dragon her uncle ordered her to shoot.

It was rather hard to shoot at the dragon when it kept zooming by and blasting at the archers who were shooting the more longer arrows, and the girl with the axe kept blocking their arrows. Sassa was starting to wonder how she was ever going to shoot that dragon down when a Gronckle with a husky looking boy on its back flew by, spewing lava on the deck.

"Well I have to hit something today, sorry you two." Sassa muttered as she knocked another dragon root arrow onto her bow and took aim at the rider and dragon. She released her arrow, and it went flying and hit the Gronckle's front leg. She winced when a chain flew up to grab the dizzy dragon and yanked it down to the ship with a loud thud.

"You monster!" The boy had yelled at Ryker when they approached.

"Take them away and lock them in a cell." Ryker ordered as his men dragged both the boy and the dragon away before looking to Sassa. "No need to look guilty niece, at least you hit something."

"Meatlug! Can you hear me!" The boy cried as he was being dragged off. "Oh stay with me girl!" Sassa couldn't help but feel bad for the two of them.

"I know it wasn't the Night Fury, but I'll take out the other riders before getting it." Sassa said before grabbing for another arrow from her quiver. "In the meantime, I'll take out the other riders."

"Good girl!" Ryker said, giving her a grin, but Sassa didn't see that grin as a friendly one.

Sassa heard a loud scream and turned to see that one of the riders, the girl, had fallen off the Night Fury. She winced as the girl hit the ocean with a loud splash as the chains grabbed her to reel her in. Sassa hurried over to see the hunters already pulling the girl out of the water and grabbed her around the waist to hoist her up.

"Let me go! Let go!" The girl yelled angrily as she struggled to get loose.

"Oh feisty one, aren't you?" Ryker chuckled as the girl knocked Sassa over and ran at Ryker, screaming and swinging her axe. Ryker blocked her attack and backhanded her in the face to send her stumbling back into the grip of the hunters as Sassa was getting up.

"Yep, this one is definitely a fighter." Sassa muttered as she rubbed her stomach.

"I like her spirit." Ryker commented. "Throw her in a cell."

"You're going to be sorry! You've messing with the wrong Vikings!" The girl growled as she was dragged away.

"Well so are you." Ryker retorted.

Just then, a bright blue Nadder had burst out from below the decks with the Gronckle and the chubby boy. The girl gave a loud cry of "Stormfly!" before ripping herself from the hunters arms arms ran over to the dragon and leapt onto it's back. Sassa braced herself for an attack when she felt Ryker place a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to wait.

"Fire!" He ordered. Two sets of bolas went flying and wrapped around the two dragons legs, stopping them before they could reach Ryker and Sassa. From the other ships, Sassa could see numerous arrows flying at the other riders, who were flying above.

"And how did I not see this coming?" Sassa asked her uncle as some other hunters grabbed the struggling riders off their dragons.

"You didn't need to know." Ryker replied cooly as the Zippleback from earlier crashed down onto the deck.

"Well I'd like to be able to know what the plans of attack are to follow them!" Sassa retorted angrily. "Otherwise, how will I know what to do exactly! You can't always keep me in the dark and expect me to know everything!"

Ryker narrowed his eyes before leaning down to look at Sassa in the eyes. "How about you ask your little roommate the plans, since you've made it obvious that you don't like taking orders from me."

"If Lysa was supposed to be engaged to you, I can see why she was happy to leave with my parents instead of sticking around to be with some arse like you." Sassa snapped before turning away. She roughly grabbed one of the riders, a lanky blonde boy with dreadlocks, by the arm and yanked him to his feet. "On your feet! And get moving!" She said roughly shoving him forward and grabbed the other rider, who she guessed was the boy's sister since she looked rather similar to him.

As they took the four riders down to the cells and locked them in one, Sassa was starting to wonder if what she said was going to get someone killed. She heard a door open and glanced from the corner of her eye to see Heather and Dagur entering the room.

"Heather! Get out of here!" One rider yelled frantically and Sassa looked to her friend in confusion. Heather never mentioned that the riders had known her.

"Surprise!" Dagur said in an annoyingly cheerful tone as he slid up to his sister. "You remember my sister, right? Oh wait, you did, you were all little friends!"

"You really need to fill me in on this, Heather." Sassa muttered before looking to the riders.

"Heather, why-"

"Hey, family is family." Heather said with a smirk as the door of the cell closed. "Enjoy your new home, you'll be here for a while."

 


	3. ▪ Escaping Prisons ▪

"You never told me that you were friends with the riders." Sassa said to Heather as they were preparing to get some sleep.

Heather raised an eyebrow and looked at Sassa skeptically. "Was I supposed to?"

"Well I probably would have found out at some point, or your brother would have blurted it out around me." Sassa pointed out. "Seriously, why is everyone keeping me in the dark now? My uncle never told me we had a plan on how to catch the riders when they attempted escape!"

"I guess maybe he assumed you knew that we wouldn't let them escape?" Heather suggested before walking back to her bed and began undoing her armor. "But if he isn't telling you, I guess I should be the one to tell you about the plans."

"Please do, I need to at least know what I'm supposed to do to avoid a slip-up and get someone killed." Sassa groaned as she went back to her bed and began undoing the braids on the side of her head. "Speaking of which, any news on my aunt's whereabouts?"

"I checked the ships that have been sailing with us, but I haven't seen or heard anything about your aunt." Heather replied as she kicked her boots off. "Which is weird, considering that she's supposed to be leverage to get you to obey."

"I figured they'd keep her alive since she was engaged to either of my uncles." Sassa added as she combed her fingers through her hair. "I don't recall her mentioning which one, but I'm hoping it wasn't Ryker."

"I wouldn't want to be engaged or married to him or Viggo, but it's good that she never did, otherwise you would have been left alone as a child."

"Yeah, my father left my mum for another woman when I was five- I don't remember that much about him. My aunt said that she was so mad at him for doing it, she and my mum literally burned the belongings he left in the house. About five years later my mum died during a hunt, boar tusk got her in the lungs. Spent the last minutes of her life clinging to me and begging me to not leave her side."

"I don't remember that much about my parents, I had a foster family who didn't tell me I was adopted until after I met the Berkian dragon riders." Heather said quietly. "Dagur sent me adrift when I was little, don't know why because from what I remember he always liked to be protective of me. He said he killed our father to take his position as chief."

"Sounds like something he would do." Sassa muttered. "How old was he?"

"About...seventeen. His reign as chief didn't last long though, spent three years in Outcast prison before breaking out and burned my village to the ground for gold."

"Freaky coincidence that it was your village?"

"Maybe, but because of that I lost my foster family and started pillaging ships to get food back to the survivors."

"Guess we have something in common now: our village got burned down by a crazy family member."

Heather gave a small laugh before she lifted her legs up onto her bed and grabbed the blankets. "I suppose there's that. Do you like dragons?"

"Of course! My village was actually one of the few that has peace with them, they live in the woods and hardly anyone goes in there unless they wanted some nice wild boar jerky but didn't want to head to another island for it." Sassa replied and sighed as she removed her tunic and threw the blankets over herself. "Dragons have earned my respect, when I was fifteen I was out hunting and stumbled upon the boar that killed my mother, stupid thing would have killed me if a dragon hadn't interfered and ripped it open."

"What kind of dragon was it?" Heather asked, sitting up.

"I don't know, but...it was milky white, just a white blur as it killed the boar and flew off before I could even get a closer look at it." Sassa answered and smiled softly. "Everyone said it could have been a wolf, but I heard the sound of wings and a dragon screech when it saved me. I always went looking for the dragon, hoping to see it again and thank it for saving my life."

Before Heather could reply, there was a loud knock on their door. Both girls looked at each other in alarm before Heather got off her bed and walked to the door before opening it a bit.

"Ryker wants us to interrogate the prisoners." Sassa heard Dagur say from the other side of the door.

"But it's the middle of the night!" Sassa groaned as she sat up to grab her tunic to pull it on. "Does Ryker ever sleep?"

"Apparently not." Heather muttered as she shut the door and went back to her bed to grab her boots. "Guess no one is getting any sleep tonight."

* * *

 

"I'll say it again, where is the Dragon Eye!" Dagur yelled, pounding his fist in the table in front of their prisoner.

Sassa rolled her eyes before covering her mouth to hide her yawn. They had been going at this all night, not even getting anything from their prisoner. Astrid, that was the name of their prisoner, was looking at them with a stoic and calm expression, her lips pressed in a tight line as Dagur and Heather fired question after question at her.

"Aren't you going to ask something, Ryker?" Sassa asked, looking to her uncle who was standing in the corner. All he answer her with was a silent glare, which she decided to take was a no. "Fine, I'll ask."

"She's not going to crack." Dagur warned Sassa as she shoved him out of the way and sat herself in front of Astrid. "She's a stubborn little-"

"Let her work." Heather hissed, slapping her hand over her brother's mouth to silence him. She caught Sassa smirking at them before turning her head to face Astrid.

"Look, it's almost morning and we need this information Astrid. You have to tell us where the Dragon Eye is." Sassa said in a low voice so only Astrid could hear.

"What is this, the 'good Viking and bad Viking' routine? Where one of you starts acting forceful and scary while another acts polite?" Astrid scoffed loudly and Sassa had to hold back a laugh.

"No, I swear this isn't a routine Astrid, we just need to know the location of the family heirloom. Otherwise, dear old uncle Ryker will start dropping bodies overboard."

"You wouldn't." Astrid muttered.

"I wouldn't, unless I was ordered to." Sassa replied and shrugged. In all honesty she didn't want to start dropping empty threats, but Heather had told her it may shake up whoever they were interrogating. "It's up to you really, I'd hate to watch my uncle slash the throat of your pretty dragon or the throats of your friends and their dragons."

"So you're his niece? I don't see a family resemblance, unless harming dragons for money is something you can inherit." Astrid retorted, narrowing her eyes.

The remark stung, but Sassa tried not to show it. She didn't care whether or not her uncle was able to get this thing these riders now dubbed the Dragon Eye, a cylinder object that used different lenses with different types of fire to show certain maps or notes about dragons, but she knew that she had to at least extract some information from the girl before Ryker decided to send word for her aunt or someone from her village to be killed.

"Just... just tell us unless you and your friends want to be food for the eels-"

"STARTING WITH YOU AND YOUR PRETTY LITTLE DRAGON! TALK HOFFERSON!" Dagur yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"It's on the Edge! But it's guarded!" Astrid blurted out. Dagur smirked and looked at Sassa with a smug look.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, she said it's guarded." Sassa growled at Dagur before turning to Astrid. "How many?"

"Well how long do you think the guards will last if we send a strong fleet? We've got the dragon root arrows to take down the dragons." Dagur sneered and looked to Ryker. "There, got some information."

"Good, and at least we have a solution to our little problem." Ryker replied, moving from his spot. "You can learn a thing or two from Berserkers, Sassa."

"I'd rather not." Sassa muttered as some hunters walked in to drag Astrid away. "Guess it's too late to sleep?"

"Half an hour to rest, I want you three prepared and alert."

"See? Not so hard." Heather said as she and Sassa walked back to their quarters. "Sure it took all night, but at least we're getting sleep out of it."

"I almost fell asleep, your brother kept flicking me awake." Sassa yawned. "You better check on your dragon, I'm willing to bet she'll be grumpy if she doesn't have her breakfast of slimy sea slugs."

"You could help if you want, you could learn to bond with a dragon." Heather suggested.

"I...I'd rather not. Otherwise, Ryker will assume that I'm trying to escape or cause a coup." Sassa replied with a shake of her head. "But if I was to train or befriend a dragon, maybe it would be a... Gronckle!"

"Gronckle?"

"Yeah! They're so cute and friendly when they're not growling and being aggressive. And they look so huggable too!"

"Well they are cute, in a rocky way. Though you seem the type of girl to ride something fast, like a Changewing."

"I can't picture myself on a Changewing, but maybe a Nadder?"

"What's all this talk about training and riding dragons?" The two girls stiffened as Dagur approached them.

"I was...just offering to show Sassa how to train a dragon, you know, so she could have a better advantage of shooting Hiccup down." Heather replied.

"Uh...y-yeah, that's what we were doing. She said it would be better if I used a Changewing since they're elusive and can camouflage themselves, but I said a Nadder would be better. Like I could...add the root to the spikes and have a better advantage at shooting at a dragon?"

"Well I'd say you'll have to train a Skrill since they're as fast as Night Furies, if not faster. But, I'd probably take it from you since I know how to control one better." Dagur said with a shrug and let out a small cackle.

"Really? Well I actually got close to one without being electrocuted, it even let me pet it's snout." Sassa retorted and smirked. "Who's the real Skrill tamer now?"

Dagur looked like he wanted to say something, but one nasty look from Heather made him grit his teeth and walk off grumbling.

"Did you really do that?" Heather asked in a low voice and Sassa chuckled.

"Nah, but I did get to see one up close, and it was gorgeous! A shame you only really see them when a storm comes around." Sassa replied as they headed to their room.

"Oh Heather! You're needed!" Dagur yelled and Heather gave a groan.

"It's alright, I'll check on your dragon for you." Sassa whispered. "Her name is Windshear, right?"

"Yeah, but be careful. She doesn't really like strangers."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. I've always been careful around dragons. I stay away from their nests, keep away from their feeding spots, avoid shooting them when I'm hunting, I respect their space."

* * *

 

"Did I, or did I not warn you about them?" Dagur scoffed as three of the four riders were dragged forward. "They never quit. Annoying!"

"Huh, they really are pretty brave. Stupid, but brave." Sassa muttered. "Quite sure they knew the rooms were rigged with traps."

Earlier the alarm had sounded, alerting them all that someone was attempting to break the newly captured dragons. Not much to anyone's surprise, it was the dragon riders. Sassa had noticed Heather bringing Astrid forward.

"Can we please work together on this?" Dagur asked Ryker. "You know dragons, I know dragons riders."

"And?" Ryker asked in a bored tone.

"Send a message, throw one over the side." Dagur suggested and nearly dissolved into a fit of deranged giggles. "It will be so fun!"

"An excellent idea." Heather said as she got to them. "Unless of course, unless Viggo wants to question them personally about the Dragon Eye? I have a better, why not put them to work?"

"I would prefer to go overboard!" One of the riders, the lanky blonde boy said rasing his hand as his sister nodded in agreement.

"Split them up so they can't plot anymore escapes, make them serve you as their dragons do." Heather added, ignoring the rider's comment.

"That... is actually a clever idea." Sassa said with a nod.

"I actually like that idea." Ryker agreed and barked at his men, "Put them to work! Or the next one who tries to escape goes over the side."

"Well, I guess we all know who got the brains in your family family." Sassa joked as her uncle walked off. Dagur sent her a glare before glaring at his sister.

"What was that all about, sis?"

"I was protecting you, bother. From what you told me about him, I doubt Viggo takes kindly to valuable property." Heather replied. If anything happens to the riders, let Ryker be on the hook for it not you."

Dagur was quiet for a moment before a grin broke out on his face. "You are my sister, aren't you?" He said ares he gave her a hug.

"No duh, she's your cousin and actually my sister." Sassa muttered as they walked back into the ship.

* * *

 

"Sleep...blissful sleep!" Sassa groaned as she kicked off her boots and flopped onto Heather's bed. "I'd like to at least get a decent amount of sleep before having to deal with those riders again!"

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in...a long time." Heather yawned as she shoved her friend over to sit on her bed. "I really need one of those knock out remedies and sleep for...a month."

"Don't think one that knocks you out like that exists." Sassa said as Heather was removing her armor and she sat up to undo her friend's braid. "But if there was, I'd slip it into Ryker's mead or dinner and fly out of this hell hole."

"And on what dragon?"

"Hmmm....a Deadly Nadder, and I'd take all the other trapped dragons with me."

"You know, that sounds like something the dragon riders from earlier would do."

"That is true, but they probably wouldn't let me join. They'd assume since I'm related to Ryker I probably like being cruel to dragons."

"I've seen the way you handled Windshear, she actually really likes you." Heather commented as she turned Sassa's head to remove her braids. "How long does it take for you to get these done?"

"About...ten minutes. My aunt showed me how to do these braids, and my mom always liked to play with my hair when I was little, which is why I grew it out." Sassa said as she started undoing the braids from the other side of her head. "People sometimes mistaken me to be my aunt's daughter, but that's because I inherited my dad's hair, eyes, my aunt's face and the only thing I've got from my mom is the shape of her eyes and her nose."

"Sounds like both your mom and aunt were quite pretty." Heather commented.

"They were, and that got them a lot of admirers. Back at home I had a few, but I wasn't interested in them and wished they'd stop complimenting me on my beauty." Sassa said with a sigh. "I'd at least like someone who didn't do that, who at least would spar with me and not go easy on me, and who isn't cruel to dragons or think they're dumb or worthless."

"I don't know anyone who fits that description, but I do home you find someone who fits those qualities."

"But I'm stuck here, a prisoner bound to probably die at the hands of my uncle or get eaten by a dragon I try to trap."

"Well who knows, maybe you won't be." Heather said with a shrug. "But only time will tell."

 


	4. ▪ Allies, Not Lovers ▪

'I'm still unsure whether or not I should let Sassa in on my plans.' Heather thought to herself as she was preparing to head on another mission by herself. 'But I should at least tell Astrid that she could be a potential ally, but what if having her take part in this results in her aunt getting killed if they suspect her of being a traitor?'

Ever since they met, Heather always found herself watching the young huntress, studying her carefully and discreetly. She had a gentle and sweet personality when they were alone, but once they were around other people, she always wore a blank or hardened expression and hardly spoke to anyone unless she was spoken to. Heather knew her gentle side was no act due to the number of times she had seen the guilty look in Sassa's eyes whenever she shot down a dragon, showing that she really did care about dragons and spoke about her strong dislike towards Ryker.

'She would be a great ally, if she dislikes the hunters and her mother's family so much she probably wouldn't have a problem turning against them.' Heather added once she was sure she packed everything. 'But then there's the thing about the Grimborns possibly holding her aunt as leverage to get her to do what they want. I still haven't found her anywhere, heard anything about her or any other human prisoners.'

"Leaving so soon?" Heather looked up to see Sassa walk in, her traveling cloak wrapped around her and a satchel slung over one shoulder.

"You're leaving as well?" Heather asked, nodding to the bag.

"Ryker wants me to go hunting with your brother, just to make sure he doesn't scare anything off. Though I feel like it'd be better of we switched places." Sassa replied with a shrug. "Me doing who knows what you're doing and you keeping an eye on Dagur as you take down deer."

"I think he's warming up to you, slightly." Heather pointed out. "You saved him multiple times and pulled plenty of dragon teeth out of his arm and leg, I'm sure he's starting to be a bit more friendly towards you." And that wasn't a lie.

Lately Dagur had been acting a bit more kinder towards Sassa, tossing her more arrows when her quiver ran empty during their battles against the Berkian riders, asking her for tips on archery and things like that. It wasn't like he was trying to flirt with Sassa, as she first thought, but more like trying to establish a friendly relationship that Sassa had with Heather.

"Oh joy, maybe uncle Ryker will notice and suggest to strengthen the alliance between our clans with marriage." Sassa muttered and Heather gave a small laugh.

"Relax, I don't think he's into you. But if something blossoms-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll hide your axe and dragon from you." Sassa interrupted, her dark green eyes narrowing.

"I was just kidding!" Heather said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Anyways, you two should at least be careful."

"I'm always careful, it's your brother who should at least be careful."

* * *

 

"My legs are getting cramped." Dagur muttered as he tried to shift his legs.

"Don't move! You'll spook the deer!" Sassa hissed as she peered over the bushes to look at their target. So far the small heard they had been tracking for the past two hours had recently stopped to graze.

"It's been too long since I've gone on a hunt, and I normally do it alone." Dagur muttered as he carefully adjusted himself so his legs wouldn't cramp.

"Shut you mouth before I sewn it shut." Sassa snapped as quietly as she could, glancing in the direction of the heard leader. "You take out the buck and I'll go for two or three of the females."

"How many bolts would it take to take this one down?" Dagur asked, sliding a bolt into his crossbow to take aim.

"Maybe two if you hit it in the right place." Sassa replied as she knocked an arrow into her own bow. "These aren't dragons so we don't have to worry about injuring them, they're gonna be out dinner."

Before Dagur could say something, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind them. He dismissed it, figuring it was a rabbit until he heard a familiar and loud squeal that sent the small heard of deer running.

"What the-"

"DUCK!" Dagur yelled, tackling Sassa to the side before a large boar came charging out of the bushes and leapt towards the clearing where the deer were grazing just moments before.

With his crossbow still in his hand, Dagur took aim at the boar as it came to a halt and turned towards them. The ugly creature screeched before charging right at them as Dagur fired the bolt, aiming right between the eyes. The boar gave a loud squeal as the bolt was driven into its skull and brain before to crashed to the floor just several feet from the two hunters.

"Yes! Right between the eyes!" Dagur crowed before he heard a small groan under him. He glanced down to see Sassa pinned under him and her eyes squeezed shut before they slowly opened.

"My head hurts..." She muttered softly as she tried to get up. Her eyes then widened when she realized Dagur was on top of her and her startled expression melted into a frown.

"Uh...hi?" Dagur said sheepishly and Sassa glared at him before rolling out from under his body and got to her feet before storming over to the boar. "Oh come on I saved your life!"

Ignoring him, Sassa bent down to yank the bolt out of the boar's head and rolled the creature over on its side and frowned.

"Thought it would have been bigger. Oh well." She said with a shrug before bending town and tossed the boar over her shoulder. Sassa turned to see Dagur gaping at her. "What? Never seen a woman carry a boar over her shoulder? You'll probably be seeing it more than once when I came back from a hunt."

"I...uh...what?" Dagur stuttered as she walked past him.

"Close your mouth, you'll attract flies."

* * *

 

"I think I'm crushing on her, is that a good thing?" Dagur groaned to Heather when she returned from her mission.

"No because she's the niece of the men we're working for." Heather replied and shrugged. "She's not interested honestly, and frankly you're not her type."

"And what's that suppose to mean?"

"You don't really fit what she wants in a guy. Also, you two have been at each other like cats and dogs since the day you met."

"And..."

"Look, just give her time big brother. She's been through a lot and at the moment she can't have that sort of drama in her life." Heather explained and gave her brother a sympathetic smile. "Who knows, maybe you two will grow close romantically or platonically."

"Well could you at least help me?" Dagur asked and gave her a small frown. "Since the hunt she's been glaring at me and keeping her distance."

"What did you do?" Heather asked, her smile melting into a frown.

"I saved her life, that's what I did." Dagur replied and proceeded to explain how while they were hunting, a wild boar showed up and nearly charged down Sassa but Dagur yanked her out of the way and show it between the eyes.

"So...she was mad that you killed it?" Heather asked when her brother finished the story.

"I don't know, when I tackled her and shot the boar I was kneeling over her protectively." Dagur replied before his eyes went wide. "Shoot did she think I was going to kiss her after I saved her life?"

"I could ask."

"No don't you dare! I'll ask her myself...later...because I don't want an arrow stuck up my rear..."

 

 


	5. ▪ Reunited ▪

"You want me to do what?!"

"You heard me! And I expect you to do this job right!"

Sassa glared at her uncle but didn't say anything as she walked back to her cabin. Her own uncle asked her to keep an eye on the crew, due to him having suspicions that there was a spy in their midst because someone among their ranks was passing information over to the riders, giving them a bit of a tactical advantage. She wasn't sure who to suspect since no one seemed to like the dragon riders or had any ties with them before they all crossed paths. Unless...

‘No, it's foolish to think that, Heather fights against the riders with her brother.’ Sassa thought to herself and immediately shook her head. ‘Heather wouldn't do that...right?’

The idea was very stupid, but then again Heather had been acting very secretive since the time with the Snow Wraiths where they tried to get some teeth from them, she didn't seem to put as much effort in attacking the other riders, and Sassa would keep catching her glancing at her before looking away or pretending to be busy. And then there were the random trips that lasted a little too long for Ryker’s liking.

“Sassa!” She was jerked out of her thoughts when Dagur nearly crashed into her, his eyes wide with excitement like a child receiving a toy on Snoggletog. “We're headed for shore! We're being summoned by Viggo!”

“And you're excited about this?” Sassa asked raising a brow at him.

“You can ask your uncle about your aunt! She might even be on the island we're heading to!” Dagur replies excitedly. He notices Sassa’s face go pale as her eyes widened in alarm. Dagur then grew worried, wondering why she looked so frightened “Sassa? Sassa are you okay?”

“I...I'm fine…” Sassa replies, shaking her head and awkwardly patted his shoulder. “I just...need to rest, this battle really wore me out.”

“Oh...okay then…”

* * *

 

“Nervous?” Heather asks her friend as they make their way towards Viggo’s tent with Dagur and Ryker. Sassa shook her head as she gripped her hands into fists to keep them from shaking in fear. Heather gently took her friend's fist and gave it a small squeeze in reassurance as they got closer to the tent.

“Wait out here.” Ryker ordered as he motioned for Heather and Dagur to follow him into the tent, leaving Sassa outside.

“Shouldn't I be inside too?” Sassa muttered as she started to walk towards the dragon cages that were nearby.

She heard some men shouting and turned to see a group trying to shove a rather large blue Gronckle into a cage. It kept growling and bracing it's legs against the ground to prevent itself from getting locked up while the men shouted and kicked it's sides. Anger surged through Sassa’s veins as she removed her bow from around her shoulders and yanked an arrow from her hip quiver.

“Hey!” She yelled loudly. The men turned towards her as she released several arrows that flew past their heads, but still startled them enough to drop to the floor in panic. Sassa stormed right over to the hunters and the dragon, who hadn't even dared to run.

“Shhh, hello.” Sassa murmured to the Gronckle that was eying her warily as she bent down to unearth a rock from the floor. “Hungry? You look like you haven't eaten in quite a while.” The Gronckle eyed the rock in her palm before carefully flicking its tongue out to slide the rock off her hand and into its mouth. Sassa chuckled as she stretched her hand out to touch the dragon when it growled loudly and quickly drew her hand back. “Alright, right, no need to be so aggressive.”

“Sassa!” Sassa flinched at the sound of Ryker screaming her name and quickly hurried off towards Viggo’s tent. When she arrived, she found Ryker practically fuming outside of the tent. “What the fuck were you doing? I specifically told you to remain outside this tent!”

“You told me to stay outside the tent, you never told me to stay by it.” Sassa retorted angrily. “And I wasn't trying to sneak off, I just wandered near the area where they keep the dragons!”

“Get inside.” Ryker growled. “Viggo want to see you now.”

Sassa took a deep breath. “Thor give me strength.” She mumbled before pushed the flap aside to step in.

Inside the tent, Sassa found a man who looked similar to Ryker, except he had more hair on his head and sported a different facial hair style, seated at a large desk with a small Maces and Talons piece in his hand and the board in front of him. He glanced up briefly at her as Ryker entered the tent and stood behind her with his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face. So this was Viggo.

“I've heard you've been trying not to give my brother any trouble.” Viggo commented, breaking the awkward silence and gave Sassa what she figured was suppose to be a friendly smile. “Talking back, very rarely defying his orders, like a certain woman I knew years ago.”

“Where's my aunt?” Sassa asks, her voice barely above a whisper before asking in a louder voice. “Where is my aunt and have you done with her?”

“I can assure you she's unharmed.” Viggo replied. “Why would we harm someone who was a part of our family and was the caretaker of our dear older sister's only child?”

“Viggo, you called for me?” A familiar voice asked and gasped. Sassa turned to see her aunt, unscathed and alive, standing at the entrance of the tent, her bright green eyes wide in alarm.

"Aunt Lysa?" Sassa whispered softly. Oh how badly she wanted to rush towards her aunt and give her a tight hug, but Ryker and Viggo were watching and she was terrified of what either would do if she even moved. Lysa however, didn't hesitate.

"Sassa!" The older woman cried as she rushed forward and pulled her niece into a hug. Sassa stiffened, watching Ryker to see what he would do. He just looked away and she felt herself relax before hugging her aunt tightly.

"Oh my baby girl, my precious little girl!" Lysa cried as she buried her face into Sassa's hair. "I was so worried about you when they took me away! Your uncle kept assuring me that you were perfectly safe, but that didn't keep me from worrying! Thank the gods you're alright!"

"I'm glad your okay too auntie." Sassa whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "Ryker kept telling me that if I didn't do alright he said, he'd kill you and the survivors!"

"Did he now?" Viggo asked. Sassa glanced at her younger uncle to see him...glaring(?) at Ryker. "Your aunt was perfectly safe and survivors are perfectly fine. Your uncle wouldn't dare hurt his sister-in-law now, would he?"

"Sister-in-law?!" Sassa exclaimed, pulling away from her aunt and grabbed both her hands to see a small golden wedding band on one of them. "You married Viggo?!"

"Well we...we were engaged a long time ago dear, and these past few weeks together just...rekindled what we had a long time ago."

"I don't even want to know what rekindled all this." Ryker muttered.

"But you -" Sassa saw her aunt quickly shake her head, a sign to remain silent. "This is all so sudden aunt Lysa."

"I know dearest, but what's important is that we're together once more." Lysa sighed as she hugged her niece again. "Never again will we be separated, never again. I promised Cass."

"She may take after you and your brother, but I can see she has every bit of her mother in her." Viggo commented as Lysa moved to the side for him to examine Sassa's face. "Strong willed, a knack for annoying those in charge, and that face she makes whenever she's not amused. I hardly ever saw her smile so much in my life until the day you were born, her little bundle of sunshine."

"She hardly ever smiled when he left us." Sassa mumbled, recalling the short period of time after her father left the three of them to be with some younger woman.

At some point in her life, Sassa had wondered if it was her fault that her father left. Was it because she wasn't born a boy? Was he just plain disappointed in her? It had taken her years to realize that he was tired of living a "boring" lifestyle they had adopted when they left her mother's family. All he wanted was an adventure, and apparently having a family with her mother wasn't the sort of adventure he even wanted.

“You must be tired.” Viggo commented and turned to his wife. “Lysa darling, would you be a dear and show Sassa where she'll be staying? My brother and I have to talk in private, I'll be in our tent later.”

“Of course, I'll help her settle in.” Lysa replied, giving Viggo a small peck on the cheek before leading Sassa out of the tent.

“Please tell me you have a plan to get out of here that involved you marrying Viggo.” Sassa whispered to her aunt as they walked towards a small camp of tents. “Because this is madness.”

“There is no plan Sassa, I didn't marry your mother's brother just to do something foolish.” Lysa hissed as they got close to the camp. “There is no way out of this, and we can't risk the lives of the others if we try anything.”

“There's always a-”

“Shh! There have been rumors of a spy among us and we don't know who they could be!”

So there was actually a spy, just as Ryker suspected. Sassa thought about mentioning her suspicions of Heather to Lysa, but seeing that she was married to Viggo, she decided not to.

“Who are these people?” Sassa asked as they walked through the camp. None of them looked like dragon hunters, there were some women and children but they didn't look like anyone she knew from their village.

“Families of the hunters, they stay here so the men won't have to travel back to their home to see them.” Lysa explained as they walked past the tents. Sassa caught some people looking at them before they quickly turned away. “Some of then forge the weapons, feed the dragons, herd animals, it's basically a small village.

“Let me guess, the children are ‘future dragon hunters’.” Sassa commented when she saw one child, a little boy with dark hair rush past her wearing a little vest made of the same Zippleback hide she'd seen the hunters wear.

“Some yes, but not all. Here's your tent dear.” Sassa’s tent was very large, looked almost the same size as Viggo’s own meeting tent but not made with dragon skin- much to her relief. Inside was just a simple cot with two blankets folded neatly on top of it, a large desk and a weapon rack in a corner opposite of the cot.

“This is mine?” Sassa asked in surprise as they walked in.

“All yours dear, Viggo figured you needed the privacy.” Lysa replied with a small smile.

“You really do love him, don't you?” Sassa asked and her aunt nodded. “But why? You always said you hated my mother's family and that they were cruel to dragons and-”

“I was a child when I met your uncles and your mother. My brother was hoping to sell me to the Grimborns to be a wife to one of their sons, but your mother fell in love with your father but the deal still stood. I had to work to prove that I was worth being a part of their family, they didn't just want a girl with a pretty face and who made both their male heirs swoon, they wanted a strong girl would bear either of their sons strong children.” Lysa interrupted and shut her eyes. “You were just a baby when Viggo begged me to marry him, stating that he didn't want me to be with Ryker, and you've seen how he is.”

“Very rude, a brute.” Sassa muttered and Lysa nodded.

“Viggo was the opposite. He was cunning, using his brains to get what he wanted, but that day he practically begged me to do whatever I could to prove to his father that I was perfect for him. But since he was the younger son, my hand was given to Ryker for marriage. I was very grateful when your mother persuaded your father to let me leave with them, stating that you needed me and didn't want to leave me to wed her brother.

“I made a promise to Viggo that day we left, that when we meet again I would gladly marry him if he remembered to ask. You were only two or three that time, I was just sixteen when we made that promise. And over twenty years had passed, and we both kept our promises to each other.”

“But why tell me all those things? All those times I asked why weren't we with my mother's family, you told me you hated them!” Sassa pointed out.

“I did, all but one. It took your uncle a month to finally ask me to marry him when I was brought here instead of being left on our burned down island like the others.” Lysa replied and gave her a wane smile. “I hadn't seen him that flustered since we were children and he accidentally walked in on me while I was dressing just to tell me there was a new dragon in the camp.”

“Are you happy? Being married to him?” Sassa asked.

“Very happy but not as happy as I am right now when I saw you in that tent, alive and well.” Lysa answered and gently placed a hand on her niece's cheek. “My dear, you must try to appease your uncle, prove to them that you are worthy of the Grimborn name and worthy to have their blood running thickly through your veins. Prove that even though you are a Grimborn, you are different and proud to be different.”

Sassa didn't like this, any of it. But the thought of trying to stay in Viggo's good graces at least a start to stay away from Ryker and stay close to her aunt again.

“Then...I'll do that then.”

 


	6. •Lumpy•

The morning when Sassa woke up, she turned over to groan good morning to Heather, but saw a weapon rack holding her bow and arrows and a desk where her friend normally slept. It took her a moment to realize where she was and felt a tinge of loneliness flit through her. She didn't even know where Heather or Dagur were staying, or if they were even going to stay on the island at all.

'Might as well get up to do something.' She thought to herself as she kicked the blankets back to slip her feet into her boots.

On the desk there was a new set of clothes that consisted of a short sleeved red tunic that looked like a very short dress and a pair of dark brown leggings, a set of leather arm guards and a small belt with a red fist. Sassa made a face as she pushed the belt to the side and slipped the other clothes on before she grabbed the belt she wore on her other clothes before she headed outside.

Everyone in the camp was already awake and doing their work as Sassa stepped out of her tent, her bow strapped to her back and her quiver at her hip and headed towards where the dragon cages were standing, collecting large stones as she walked. She checked each cage to see if she could find that blue Gronckle, occasionally dropping some stones into the cages of the other Gronckles she came across before going over to a hunter to ask for help.

"Excuse me, but do you know where a blue Gronckle is being kept? Male, kind of bigger than the rest, a bit aggressive, have you seen him?"

"Do I look like I care?" The hunter snapped and looked at her up and down with a sneer. "I don't think this camp needs any whores walking around."

Sassa narrowed her eyes. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Do I look like I care?"

"I am Sassa Grimborn, daughter of the late Cassandra Grimborn and niece of her brothers Viggo and Ryker." Sassa snapped as the man's face went pale. "Do I need to report you to my uncle's for being disrespectful?"

"N-no miss! I didn't know w-who you were!" The man studdered and dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together. "Please don't report me, Ryker will kill me!"

"Then I suggest you be more respectful some time. I'm not some whore walking around this camp." Sassa snapped. "Where's the dragon?"

"Far side of the camp! Y-you can't miss it!"

With a nod, Sassa made her way towards the far side of the encampment. The numerous dragon cages soon became less and less until she found one cage where familiar growling could be heard from. Making her way to the cage, Sassa could see a pair of blue feet as the cage shook wildly.

"Hello there friend!"" Sassa greeted as she lifted the tarp covering it's cage to find the blue Gronckle from last night. "I've got a little something for you!"

The Gronckle stopped growling as it watched her drop several stones she collected and sniffed them carefully before scarfing them down. Sassa chuckled to herself as she watched the dragon eat, quietly admiring it. Judging by the size it most definitely had to be a male, maybe four or five years old with lots of battle scars. Guess this one was a fighter.

"Sorry, I don't have anymore." Sassa apologized when the Gronckle looked up at her with an open mind, expecting more rocks. He gave a snort and turned around to have his rear face her before laying back down. "Oh now you're pouting, you big baby."

"What the Thor are you doing?" Sassa turned to see Dagur approaching her, a small frown on his face.

"Feeding this big guy. Look at him, he's huge!" Sassa replied gesturing to the dragon. "Saw him last night while you two were talking to my uncle."

"Yeah, he kicked me and Ryker out of the tent to speak with Heather for a while." Dagur said with a shrug and leaned against the cage, causing the Gronckle to growl. He frowned before shifting away from the cage. "Crabby isn't he? I heard these were supposed to be the more friendly kind of dragons."

"Well he seems to be a scrappy fellow, check out all those scars." Sassa gestured to the scars along the dragon's stomach, arms, tail, chest and face. "Either this big boy got into a lot of fights as he was growing up, or he managed to escape dragon hunters numerous times."

"Until now. Guess since his hide is too scarred up he'll be turned to meat or something."

"Not unless I ask my aunt to ask my uncle to spare this dragon and let me keep it as a pet."

Dagur frowned, thinking the idea was a bit... absurd. "And why would Ryker listen to your aunt?"

"Because my aunt is now married to Viggo and no one disrespects her, and gods help whoever disrespects Viggo's wife." Sassa replied with a shrug. "From the looks of it she can persuade him quite well, they were in love back when my parents were married."

"Huh, and since your aunt loves you very much she'd do anything to keep you happy, and if keeping this dragon alive makes you happy..."

"They most certainly won't kill the dragon. And if she tells me not to get attached to him, I'll tell her I already named him."

* * *

 

"I can't believe you actually gave into it." Ryker muttered as he and Viggo watched their niece tend to her new pet. "You actually let Lysa convince you to let Sassa keep that Gronckle we've been chasing for years?"

"Well Sassa already named it and was way to attached to it, and Lysa threatened to dismember me if I said no- in a joking manner of course." Viggo replied as the Gronckle nuzzled his niece lovingly. "Besides, it'd be good to have a dragon rider on our side to aid our Berserker allies. And how could I say no to my favorite niece?"

"Our _only_ niece." Ryker corrected him with an annoyed huff. "And I still can't believe you waited for me to be gone so you can marry Lysa when our parents stated she was to marry me."

"She was to marry the leader of the hunters, a position I earned fairly and that granted me to right to marry the girl who's own brother sold to our family." Viggo retorted and cast his brother a look. "I expect you to have more respect for my wife, your sister-in-law, and our niece. She's the only thing we have left of our beloved sister, may she rest in peace in the halls of Valhalla, we must earn her trust since she's been told not to trust us."

"That girl wouldn't even trust me, why would she trust you of all people?"

"Because I at least showed her some respect and family love when we met again almost twenty years later. And she knows her aunt is safe being married to me. Also I didn't hit her hard enough to give her bruises."

"Lumpy come back with my boot!" They heard Sassa yell as she chased after her dragon. "Lumpy get your ass back here this instant!"

"Stupid girl." Ryker muttered and frowned. "You don't think she's the spy, do you? Leaking our information to the riders and helping them out?"

"No, she hardly knows them and wouldn't step a toe out of line if it meant risking her aunt's life." Viggo said with a shake of his head. "Our spy has to be someone who actually _knows_ Hiccup and his friends, is quite close with them. And I believe I know exactly who it is."


	7. Betrayal of a Friend

"So, what are we doing exactly?" Sassa asked Dagur quietly.

"Oh ambushing the dragon riders, and keeping your uncle for getting captured by them while trying to catch a Flightmare." Dagur replied as he dragged a whetstone across the blades of his axe. "Ever seen one before?"

"Once or twice, a few years back some glowing stuff leaked into the river on our island and that dragon showed up." Sassa said and shuddered. "I once got hit with the paralyzing spray."

"Well don't worry, you won't get hit this time because we've got some good nets and something to keep its mouth shut." Dagur assured her as the island Heather told them the Flightmare was apparently supposed to be on was in sight. "Oh there it is! Get ready to shoot!"

Sassa shuddered, remembering that night the Flightmare passed through her home and attacked the village. She had tried to scare it off, shooting flaming arrows in it's direction, but all it did was piss it off and spray her. For nearly an hour she stood there in the middle of the village watching helplessly as her people ran trying to avoid getting sprayed or attack the dragon till it flew away.

The riders flew towards their ships but instead of dropping fire onto the ships, Sassa noticed they dropped bags that exploded bright blue liquid that seemed to glow. Curious, she bent down to examine the liquid, carefully touching it and rubbing her fingers together.

"What is this?" She muttered as Dagur looked down at it.

"I don't know, but it's really shiny and that's pretty cool." The Berserker commented before a loud familiar roar pierced the air.

"Hit the ground!" Sassa yelled, tackling Dagur to the ground as the Flightmare passed by spraying it's paralyzing mist.

"You really gotta stop getting into these positions with me, people are gonna think we've got a thing going on." Dagur said with a groan.

"Shut up!" Sassa snapped as she quickly rolled off him and jumped to her feet to take aim at the Flightmare with a dragon root arrow. "I'm not going to miss this time, this time you will fall and not paralyze me!"

She took aim at the dragon as it raced towards her, mouth open to let it's mist spray out behind it. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Sassa waited, letting all the sounds around her fade away as she focused on the Flightmare's roars. One...two...three...four...five...NOW! Her forest green eyes snapped open as she leapt forward and jumped up before releasing her arrow, shooting right for the dragon's arm and hit her mark. Several hunters cheered wildly as the dragon came crashing down onto the deck and quickly moved in to tie it up.

"Impressive, I hadn't seen a shot like that since Arvid was working for us." Sassa turned around in surprise to find Viggo walking over to her, a small smile in his face. "Who would have known his archery skills passed onto you?"

"I...I didn't think it was from him, I always thought I got it from my mother." Sassa admitted, not wanting to be pleased with the idea that her greatest skill came from the man who she hated the most.

"Oh she was quite handy with the bow, but you've proven to have her skill and so much more." Viggo assured her and placed a hand gently on her head. "Come, let Dagur know we've found our spy."

"Already?" Sassa asked in surprise. "Who?"

"I cannot believe it, this can't be true." Dagur muttered as the hunters tossed a chained up Heather into a cage normally reserved for dragons. "My own sister, why would she do this?"

Why? The question was now burned in Sassa's head. Why would her friend do this to them? But then again...her suspicious behavior made so much sense now.

"Once a loyal dragon rider, always a loyal dragon rider I suppose." Viggo replied with a shrug as Heather yelled loudly and kicked at the bars. "One can never trust someone who was once friends of your enemy."

"I suspected it, but I never thought I'd be right." Sassa added as she walked to the cage.

"Sassa please believe me, I didn't want you or my brother to find out like this! I was doing this for good!" Heather yelled and tried to reach out for her friend but Sassa quickly moved back. "You hate this dragon hunting business, this was the only way to stop it!"

"By betraying your own brother and your friend?" Sassa snapped. "When were you going to tell me, when one of your dragon rider friends had an axe or sword to my throat? When one of their dragons already hurt me or your brother?"

"You hate this business as well!"

"But I have to deal with it if I don't want my aunt or my to get killed by doing the wrong thing!"

"Enough! Take her away!" Dagur yelled and stormed away from the cage.

"Never thought you'd be a traitor, but then again you really are just full of surprises, eh?" Sassa muttered before walking off, feeling her heart already starting to break. He friend, her only friend in this damn business didn't even try to defend herself when she asked her if she would tell her the truth if those dragon rider's hurt her. One look in Heather's eyes was enough to give her the answer.

××××××

"Your uncle told me what happened."

Sassa grunted in response before feeling a hard smack ok the back of her head. "Oww!"

"What have I told you about responding that way?" Lysa asked sharply as Sassa rubbed the sore spot. "You're not a drunk or mute to be grunting like an animal."

The two were sitting inside Sassa's tent, Lysa waiting for Viggo to finish a meeting with some potential buyers in

"Sorry..." Sassa muttered and looked at the rug. "What did he tell you?"

"The Berserker girl, Heather, she attempted to betray the hunters." Lysa responded.

"And what do you care?" Sassa asked looking away from her aunt.

"Because what she is doing is right." At those words Sassa turns to look at her aunt in bewilderment.

"Aunt Lysa-"

"Why do you help your uncle's hunt dragons, despite the fact that you own one now?"

"Because I don't want them to hurt you, I was already threatened enough by Ryker that if I didn't do as he says you'd be dead."

"But it's not the right thing to do, is it? I'm perfectly alright, Viggo would never hurt you because you're all he has left of Cass." Lysa reached forward to touch her niece's cheek. "Your mother left this family and lifestyle because she felt empathy for these beautiful creatures who we share this world with. When you were a baby, just a year old, your mother found you playing with an escaped Changewing. She would have killed it immediately if she hadn't seen the tender look in the dragon's eyes while you were cooing and admiring it's talons and kept disappearing and reappearing just to hear you giggle and shriek with laughter."

Her mother left her brothers for dragons?

"Knowing her, she would have killed her own brothers for forcing you into this. This isn't what she would have wanted." Lysa continued and lifted Sassa's head so they were looking into each other's eyes. "She would have wanted you to do the right thing. Do the right thing Sassa, you did the right thing by not killing any dragons when you were hunting them, so try doing another right thing by saving them."

 


	8. ▪ The Right Thing ▪

"Do the right thing..." Sassa muttered to herself. "What does that mean specifically?"  
Lumpy, who was dozing off, opened one eye to look at her and gave a grunt, before closing it and going back to sleep. Sassa muttered something about hiding his rocks before going back to focus on her archery, but it was hard to.  
Thanks to what Lysa had told her, she hadn't been able to sleep very much or concentrate on anything when trying to figure out what her aunt meant by "doing the right thing". Did she mean she wanted Sassa to betray her uncles by releasing all the caged dragons? Or did she mean she should free Heather and join her in helping those dragon riders? Either way it sounded like betrayal to the family.   
"Once again, thank you for the ominous advice aunt Lysa." The young hunter muttered to herself as she shot arrow after arrow at the single target, not stopping until every arrow in her hip quiver was sticking out of the three painted barrels she set up earlier. "Aaaand I'm out of arrows."   
"I see you've managed to hit the bullseye, more or less." Sassa tensed at the sound of her uncle's voice, wondering why he was even here. Lumpy, sensing her discomfort, opened his eyes and growled aggressively at the older man as he made his way towards Sassa.   
"I thought you were busy with the business?" Sassa asked as Viggo approached her.   
"Taking a bit of a break, at your aunt's insistence." He replied with a shrug as he stepped back when Lumpy got between him and Sassa. "I see your little friend has grown protective of you, and it's only been...two weeks? Quite impressive considering how he'd been in a cage four weeks ago and absolutely refused to let us even touch him."   
"Well I have been feeding him rocks, like a lot. It's a trust thing we've got going on, and Heather has...had...been helping me."

Viggo noted the sadness in his niece's voice when she mentioned the young Berserker, the downcast head and the sad look in her eyes as well. “I seen this isn't the first time someone close has betrayed you in some way.”

“The first was...that man. Claiming he loved me and my mother and then abandoned us for another woman much younger than her, like aunt Lysa's age, and he didn't show up again in my life until after mother was dead.” Sassa said, gripping her bow tightly. “I was just five years old when he left us, fucking five years old, and he abandoned us without hesitation. If I ever see him again I swear I will shove an arrow up his ass and hang him over a pit of Whispering Deaths.”

“Hmm, well normally I'm not one for such violent revenge, but a man like your father deserves that and more.” Viggo said with a nod. “Have you seen him since your mother's death?”

“He came five years later after she died, saying he wanted to marry me off to some guy because I was his daughter and the man was willing to give him money and land for that.” Sassa scoffed. “And the man was old, practically the age of a grandfather too! I literally screamed at my father and ran away to hide in the forest from him until my aunt's friend came to fetch me.”

“I remember your mother telling me when you were still in her womb that she never wanted you to be married off like your aunt, she wanted you to find someone you loved.” Viggo commented with a sad sigh. “Our parents tried to marry her off to someone so Ryker or I could take over the hunters, but she refused to go along and actually fought her supposed betrothed for her freedom.”

“Huh, I guess next time my father comes looking for me I'll do the same thing with whoever he tries to marry me off to.” Sassa murmured with a small chuckle. “She did the right thing, though it ended up with her marrying my ass of a father.”

“And having you.” Viggo added with a nod. “Sometimes doing the right thing is hard to do, and can often lead us into making some poor decisions that turn out for the better. Your mother marrying your father was somewhat of a mistake, but having you wasn't. Even after he left her she still saw you as a blessing instead of a burden.”

“So... befriending Heather was a bad choice?”

“I'm not saying it was, but what you choose to do with her tonight is your choice, we're moving her to a more secure location to be rid of her and I want you and her brother to be part of the escort.”

“Wait you want _me_ to kill one of my only friends?” Sassa asked in horror. “I can't do that! I know I'm mad at Heather, but I can't kill her!”

“You don't have to, but Dagur or one of the other hunters could do it.” Viggo responded and Lumpy growled loudly before shifting Sassa away from her uncle. “But we're not getting rid of her so soon, just going to keep her out of sight for a few more weeks or days until she's no longer useful for us. I'll let you know when I want you to move her.”

 _He's going to kill her, and I don't even know when!_ Sassa thought to herself as her uncle left, leaving her alone with Lumpy. _She may have betrayed us, deceived me and her brother and everyone else with lies, but it was for a good cause. I can't let her die like a traitor, I can't do that to one of my only friends._

There was one thing Sassa knew she had to do, and she could only hope that it really was the right thing to do for her friend.


End file.
